


Stranger Danger.

by ramblesandshambles



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Caryl, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-09-27 11:28:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10018223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramblesandshambles/pseuds/ramblesandshambles





	1. Chapter 1

“Please come to the party!” Michonne and Andrea begged Carol. Carol rolled over in her bed she was already in her pj’s and stared at her two friends that come into her room. Carol didn't want to go out because she had not long come home and taken a shower and changed her clothes into her pj's. She knew her flatmates were just trying to look out for her and include her in their New Year plans but she had been telling them for a week that she actually had to work. She had had Christmas off after losing a game of paper scissors rock with her co workers and she now was rostered on for the next morning shifts.  “Please… there will be lots of cute guys there.”

 

“I’m kinda off guys right now… but you guys go… honestly it's fine. I’ve work early.” Carol said, she rolled over onto her back to check out her flatmates outfits they were wearing. Both were single and interested in looking at the talent out and about. Carol enjoyed looking at the talent as much as everyone else but she never risked going to work hung over or over tired. She really didn't want to go out and she was quite content with staying home now that she had come to terms with the fact she had to be at work early on new year's day. 

 

“All work no play makes you a boring woman Carol!” Her roommates laughed at her.

 

“I know but I have to be up early, babies don’t wait for anyone.” Carol told them.

 

Carol was a doctor at the local hospital she was a pead who worked in the NICU with the premmie babies and she was rostered on tomorrow at nine.  She went out on Christmas eve with the girls and got hit on by drunks and guys who probably were cheating on their wives. She really didn't want a repeat of Christmas eve anyway when a guy vomited over her new shoes. She was too old for that sort of thing.

 

“Can we call you if we get stuck and can’t get a cab?” Andrea asked.

 

“Always, you know that.” Carol said. She always said she would drive anywhere at anytime to pick them up to save them getting in cars with people they didn’t know or people who could have been drinking but most of the time they couldn’t catch a cab. 

 

It wasn’t that Carol was boring but she just needed to chill out. She had been rostered on the past six days for twelve hour shifts. She barely made it through the door tonight and through the shower when her roommates wanted her to go out but she hadn’t even had dinner. She was off for four days after tomorrow's shift then hopefully after the holidays things would settle down again back to normal.

 

Carol woke three hours later to her phone ringing, she answered and told her friends she was coming and would be ten to fifteen minutes and to wait on the corner of the club. Carol debated changing out of her pj’s and at the last minute just threw a sweatshirt over her tank top and boxer pj set. It wasn't a real fancy outfit but it wasn't like she was going to be meeting anyone or even getting out of the car. 

 

She climbed into her black SUV and started it. She brought it a year ago and loved it. Sure it was big for just her but it got her to and from work in the rain hail and snow and it also meant that she felt safe in it. She also loved the tinted windows at the side which gave her some privacy coming and going from the hospital.

 

She was tapping her hand on the steering wheel waiting at the corner for her friends when the front door opened and someone climbed in. She glanced to her passenger seat and a very drunk male climbed into the front of her truck.

She let out a little squeal when it wasn’t Andrea or Michonne but a man that she didn’t know, but she did recognize him. Daryl Dixon from NASCAR. She had the NASCAR calendar at home and Daryl was May and in the group shot of December… it also had something to do with the spca and puppies but she really only brought it to keep track of the dates... And to remember what a man looked like.

 

“Took you forever, the stalkers were after me.” He said as he started doing up his seat belt. He was drunk she could tell and smell the booze coming off him. “Put the peddle to the middle and lets go.” He drummed his hands on the dashboard of the suv.

 

“Um…” Carol said.

 

“Shit!” he said glancing across to the driver's seat looking at her, he took in her outfit and laughed, he looked up and down to her sneakers and up to her short pj shorts. “You’re not Merle.”

 

Carol just shook her head and glanced across the street at the bunch of reporters taking photos of her and him in the front of her car. They started moving as a large group towards her car.

  


“Hi…” Michonne and Andrea climbed into the back seat both looking at the man in the front seat and at Carol’s face. “Now I know why you didn’t want to come out. You were getting laid by Mr December.”

 

“Go… go… go…” Daryl mumbled pointing to the reporters. Carol indicated and pulled out from the curb and drove off. She was nearly blinded by flashes going off in her face. She didn’t know what she was going to do with with Daryl Dixon because he appeared to have fallen asleep in the front of her car. Michonne and Andrea were giggling like crazy in the back seat.

 

“Carol what are you doing with Mr December?” Michonne giggled.

 

“I’m not doing anything with him, he just got in the car.”

 

Carol pulled over and tried to wake him, he just opened his mouth and snored more. His front pocket in his pants was ringing and all the women looked at his crotch.

 

“Bag’s put my hand in there.” Andrea started to reach over.


	2. Chapter 2

 

“Stop it.” Carol hissed, she batted their hands out of the way and glanced at his jeans. She dipped her fingers into the pockets of his jeans and felt the phone vibrating against his groin. She wanted to pull her hand right out but she managed to tug the phone right out. It was flashing Merle, his brother she knew that much about Daryl. “Hello?”

 

“Sorry sugar, I thought I was ringing my bro,” Come the voice. Carol glanced at the man snoring in the seat right beside her. He didn't look like he had a care in the world. He was lucky they were not crazy stalkers and take him off somewhere and lock him in the basement. Carol wondered if he would be able to get out of their basement. She shook that idea out of her head and decided to return him to his brother.

 

“Wait… I have him… He’s passed out in my truck.” Carol said in the phone. "He's in the front seat right now. I can take a photo or something if you don't believe me."

 

“He’s what?”

 

“He climbed into my truck and passed out.” Carol rattled off where she was. It was dark out and she couldn't be to sure she wasn't being followed by stalkers or reporters who thought they were onto a story.

 

“I’ll be there soon.” Merle said. Carol parked on the side of the road waiting with two drunk giggly women and one asleep drunk male snoring. A short while later a black SVU pulled up behind her and a man climbed out and walked up to the driver's door and tapped on it. Carol glanced out the window and saw a stocky good looking man who was sporting a shaved head and a half cocky grin. Carol wound down her window. She couldn't be too sure it was Merle so she was going to wait to see what he said.

 

“I’m Merle Dixon… you have my brother?” He asked Carol, he looked nervous like she was going to try pull something. He glanced behind her at his brother and shook his head seeing him sound asleep.

 

“Yeah but he’s really out of if. I don’t know if you can even move him right now.” Carol said. "They wouldn't be much help and I don't know if I would be much help." Plus Carol didn't want to get out of the car in her pj's.

 

“Would you mind following me home to our house?” Merle asked her. Carol nodded and followed his car to a gated community and there were reporters lying in wait and were flashing photos of her and her car. She had no doubt they were running her plate number and would know who she was within the next few minutes. Carol groaned knowing how ruthless they could be. She just wanted to get rid of him and go home back to bed to sleep.

 

Merle stopped talked to the person on the gate they let both SUV’s through and Carol pulled up behind Merle. She glanced around, the houses were really spaced out with high fences and lots of lights out on the street. She could see high walls around the houses to keep privacy. She didn't know who else lived around the place but you had to have serious money to live in the gated community.

She climbed out of her car and walked around to the passenger side to help Daryl out. Merle was pulling into the garage and started walking up the path towards Carols SUV, Carol opened the door and shook him awake turning his legs around to put them on the ground.

 

“Hey… you’re really pretty…” Daryl slurred when she shook him awake. “Wanna come in for a drink?” He reached out to touch her hair. Carol let him because she knew he was drunk. She just gave him a smile to try reassure him that she was trying to help him get out of the car.

 

“No thankyou. Its nice to meet you too.... I'll see you later.” Carol stood him up and started him on his way to the front door of his home and she hoped he would make it on his own. She moved to go get into her car when Merle stopped her.

 

“Can I get your word you won’t blab about what happened tonight. Get you to sign an agreement?” Merle asked her, he glanced down her body seeing she was wearing pj underwear. “What the fuck did you two do tonight?”  


“Nothing I swear, I pulled up to get my friends and he climbed into my truck thats it. And no I won’t sign a NDA and there is nothing else to discuss. Goodnight. I have to go I have work tomorrow.”

 

“But… but…”

 

“Goodbye, hope he doesn’t wake with a headache.” Carol said.

  
Carol climbed into her SUV and drove out of the gated community and towards her home. She got her drunken roommates into their beds and went back to bed herself. She glanced across her room at Daryl Dixon in the calendar for December .


	3. Chapter 3

  


Carol woke the next morning not so tired as she thought she would be. She had a quick cup of coffee and some toast. It was still early as she sat drinking her coffee and eating, she thought about the man who she had in her car last night.

 

She stared out the window and watched a spider climbing up the outside of the window. She wasn’t scared of it but she was pleased it was on the outside of the window and not the inside. She watched zoned out while she ate and drank then she needed to head up for a shower and get moving. She liked to arrive early for her shift so she wasn’t rushed. To take her time to check up on anything pressing before she did a hand over with another doctor.

 

She run through the shower, pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. She would change into clean scrubs before entering the NICU unit. She liked to do that not to bring any fresh germs in unless she was working as an emergency on call in the emergency department as the pead that was on call.  She pulled her hair into a pony tail and put a light covering of makeup on her face. She was still a little bit tired from having to get up in the middle of the night but nothing that she couldn't handle.  

She picked up her cell phone and glanced at her messages before heading out to her car. There were a few messages from the hospital that she needed to check on before she started and some lab results that she had been waiting on. Nothing that was pressing.  Before she knew what hit her her photo was being taken and she was having questions thrown at her.

 

She shielded her eyes from the flash and made her way to her car. Carol couldn't understand what was going on and why people were all up in her space. She kept saying no comment and started running towards her car. She climbed in and locked her door. She sat for a moment breathing hard wondering what the hell was going on.  She started her car up and started driving towards the hospital and she noted she had a few on her tail on her way to the hospital. Carol pulled into the underground and called security to escort her to the building. She did need to get things sorted and get all this off her tail.

Carol realized what was going on as the doors of the lift closed on her. The drunk from last night. She was going to throttle Daryl Dixon for doing this to her.

 

Carol worked slowly through her morning in the NICU checking the babies in her care that morning. She had to head down the hallway for an emergency C section following a car accident with a thirty weeker girl. She was moving fast as she was the pead on call for basically the whole hospital at the moment. She pulled her hair up into a cap so it was out of the way. She changed her scrubs and put on protective footwear. She had a couple of nurses come with her. She just finished scrubbing her hands and was putting her gloves on when her phone was ringing via text on the counter.

 

“Can you check that for me?” She asked the nurse in the room not wanting to have her gloves contaminated. She didn't know if she was getting paged to come somewhere else. She needed to check her phone all the time to keep updated.

 

“Thanks for last night. Please call me. D.D.” The nurse told her reading the text. Carol almost groaned out loud. How the heck did he even get her cell phone number.

 

“Thanks.” Carol said. She had to get her head in the game she couldn’t concentrate on the section. Carol told the nurse to bring her phone with her into the operating room. She stood by waiting to be passed a baby not really knowing how she was going to be. The mother was barely alive and they didn't know what state the baby was in. The moment the baby was being taken out they were going to start working on other parts of her body. She was handed a tiny baby and took it to the head of the mother where a quick photo was snapped. Carol then took her quickly to her table, she had to work quickly. She hated moments like this but often there were positive outcomes. She hoped it would be the same this time. 

 

Carol spent the rest of the day with the new baby boy in the unit and sharing care with another neonatal pead doctor who came on at lunch time to cover her while she was in the C section. Carol loved her job. There were days she went home in tears and cried for hours but for the most part she loved watching the babies grow. She felt very lucky to have the job she had, she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever have the chance to be mother herself. 

 

At eight she was tired and handed over to someone else. She was tired and wanted to go home and sleep and enjoy her days off. She hadn’t been outside or even off her floor all day. She even ate her dinner in the office. Her floor was high security and you needed a swipe card to get into the nicu unit and a pass to get into the maternity floor in general. You couldn’t make it past security easily.

 

She was heading out when one of the security guards on the doors of the maternity floor called out to her.

 

“Carol… we have been turning reporters away all day. Your roommate said not to come home because people were camped outside the house and trying to take photos through the window.” She said.

 

“What the… why?”

  
“You need to google yourself hun…”

"I'm going to kill him...." Carol whispered to herself. 


	4. Chapter 4

Carol made it to the ground floor and had security meet her at the lift because they were warned that she was coming down. Carol couldn't believe her eyes at all the press waiting for her to come out of the lift.

 

Security commented no comment and they managed to get Carol to her SUV, they wished her good luck. Carol had no idea what she was going to do or where she was going to go. She was still in her scrubs and she just wanted to go home and sleep. She didn’t know what to do. She pulled over on the side of the road and hit call on the text message she got from Daryl.

 

“It's all your fault I can’t even go home. What the hell am I supposed to do?” Carol yelled into the phone. “I can’t even go to bed and I just come off a twelve hour shift.”

 

“I’m sorry alright…”

 

“I’m so mad right now.” Carol said. “And I never get mad...” She tried to pull herself together.

 

“Do you want to come over here to sleep?” He asked Carol. She was so tired she couldn’t even think, and she was starting to become irrational and she was going to cry... she was definitely close to crying. “Come over here and I’ll sort something out. I’m so sorry... I fucked up.”

 

“Too right you did.” Carol said.

 

“You gonna cry?”

 

“No I’m not going to cry.” Carol started her SUV up again and decided to take him up on his offer to go somewhere for a sleep. She drove up to the gates and looked out wondering what to say to the security gate. She popped her head out the window. He just waved her through, Carol thanked him and drove through trying to remember the way to Daryl's house from the night before.

 

Daryl had wandered down to the bottom of the drive, Carol sighed looking at him looking a bit rough from the night before. He was wearing sunglasses and looked like he just woke up. She pulled into his driveway. He opened her car door and looked her up and down. She gave him her best glare which made him drop his eyes to the ground.

 

“Hi… you are a …” He didn’t have a clue because people wore scrubs for all sorts of jobs.

 

“I’m a doctor, I work with babies.” Carol told him.

 

Daryl made a small sign with his hands trying to measure baby size. Carol nodded and climbed out of the truck. She reached over the back and grabbed her bag, it didn’t carry anything but a change of clothes and her id. She grabbed his hands and pushed his hands together to show him how small the babies were. If he thought a baby was that big as a new born he could try push it out. Most of the babies she saw were tiny.

 

“Tiny babies?”

 

“Normally I work in the NICU… can we not do this right now?” Carol asked him. “I’m really tired.”

 

“Sure come in… do you wanna call your roommates let them know where you are?” Daryl asked her, Carol nodded and flicked off a text and followed Daryl into his house. She looked about, his house was beautiful and not anything she thought he would live in. His house was pretty new and styled. She could get very comfortable staying there.

 

She followed him down a short hallway into a huge lounge room with big french doors that opened onto a deck where she could see a swimming pool and a hot tub. She could see high privacy fences all around. She saw an old lab get up off the deck and come in to greet her. She bent down to pat the black lab with grey in her muzzle.

 

“Whats her name?”

 

“Cheeta… she used to run really fast now she just likes to jog... She was a rescue.” Daryl supplied. “Can I make you a drink?”

 

“Yes please… nothing with caffeine in it, I’m so tired right now I need to sleep, and eat… if you are offering.” Carol said.

 

Daryl gave half a smirk when he realized that Carol wasn’t wowed that he was famous, she looked like she was still pissed at him. Now she wanted him to cook her dinner.

 

“I um… what do you want to eat?” He opened the fridge and looked in there wasn’t a great deal of things there, he had been away driving and only picked his dog up a few hours before heading out on the town with Merle. “I think we probably need to order something in. Pizza? Chinese?”

 

“No pineapple, Pizza sounds great.” Carol said. "Get a few... we might need breakfast if thats all the food you have."

 

“K… I’ll order something, will have to go to the gate to pick it up though.” Daryl told her, “Stalkers… but you probably already know about that.”

 

“Not really I just know I had camera’s in my face and they think I’m your girlfriend or something. They are going to have a field day when they find out about this.”

 

“I’m sorry about this. I don’t normally drink like that. I can’t believe I did that. I guess I’m just lucky you didn’t kidnap me and... you know….” He shrugged.

 

Carol pointed at the couch and took a seat. Daryl rang and ordered a couple of pizza’s. He took Carol over a drink and stood there looking at her not really knowing what to do with her now he had her in his home. Carol had kicked off her shoes and had tucked her feet up on the couch. His dog was cuddled up at her side looking at him as if daring him to tell her to get off the couch like he normally would. This strange woman sitting on his expensive couch cuddling with his dog in scrubs. Sunglasses on her head looking about and drinking the drink he gave her. He couldn't help but like her. 

 

“You know… take you away and strip you and do stuff?” Carol asked him. “Has that happened before?”  


“No…”

 

Carol looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

 

“It hasn’t…”

 

“Ok.” Carol said. “I don’t really believe you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

 

Daryl didn’t know what to do, Carol had fallen asleep on his couch with Cheeta at her side. Should he pick her up and take her through to the spare bedroom where clearly she would have a better sleep or  throw a blanket over her and let her sleep in the lounge. But in the end he decided to pick her up and move her because the sun come in the lounge room first thing in the morning and it was extremely hot.

 

He told Cheeta to get down and he bent over and scooped her up in his arms. She turned towards him and rested her head on his shoulder and one of her arms looped over his shoulder.

 

Cheeta lead the way heading into Daryl’s bedroom, she quickly changed track and followed into the spare bedroom. Daryl had already pulled back the sheets and lay her down on the bed. She rolled onto her side. He pulled up the sheets and turned off the lights. 

 

Cheeta jumped up on the bed and cuddled up beside her. 

 

“Traditor…” Daryl whispered and he patted her head and headed out of the bedroom towards his own room.

 

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

 

Carol opened her eyes in the morning looking around the room, busting to use the bathroom. She felt someone lying behind her. She groaned thinking that she didn’t go to bed with Daryl who the hell was it.

 

She felt a lick across the back of her neck, she glanced over her shoulder to see two big brown eyes staring at her and a pink tongue set ready to lick at her again. 

 

“Cheeta… you cheeky  girl.” Carol said. “You need to show me where the bathroom is.”

 

The dog jumped up and stood staring at her on the bed waiting for her to make a move. Carol climbed out of the bed and went and looked down the hall, she also noticed that there were two doors in her room. She opened one and it went to a wardrobe. 

 

She had used the main bathroom during the evening and she knew where it was but she took the chance on the other door being a ensuite. She opened the door and shut it again so quickly.

 

“I’m so sorry…” She blurted out. “I didn’t see anything….”

 

Carol had opened the door to a very naked Daryl Dixon soaping himself down in the shower. It was hot… real hot. Carol was blushing and she left the bedroom and went down to try use the other bathroom.

 

She came out of the bathroom and run into Daryl who was standing in the hallway with a towel around his waist. She couldn’t help but stare at him.

 

“I said I was sorry.” Carol blurted. 

 

“I should of locked the door. I’m sorry.” He said.

 

“Um…” Carol gestured that his towel was slipping. She blushed and he headed down the hall saying he was sorry again. Carol headed back to the room she was in and wondered what she was going to do for clothes. She hoped she could go home today. Other wise she was going to have to jump Daryl’s bones.

 

She sat on the side of her bed and rang her flatmate. And the news wasn’t good. The press were still camped outside her place. They promised to pack her some clothes and get them to her. Carol didn’t know what to do because she didn’t want to spend the next four days off hanging out at Daryl’s place.

 

(((((((((((((((((((((((((

  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

 

Andrea and Michonne were sitting on Daryl’s couch, they were all pretending they were not watching the man they were whispering about walking around his back yard and tossing a ball to his dog while talking on the phone. 

 

“So…” Michonne gave her a goofy grin.

 

“Nothing happened.” Carol tried to tell them.

 

“But look at him. He’s sexy and you want to I can tell.” Andrea said.

 

“Stop…” Carol said. “Shouldn’t you too be going to work or something.”

 

“Yeah… but we needed to make sure you didn’t have that man tied to your bed or vice versa.” Michonne whispered.

 

“Oh my god….” Carol shook her head.

 

“Ok we have to go. All your clothes are in there…. And some new underwear… we took it upon ourselves to throw away your granny panties…” Andrea whispered.

 

“I don’t have granny panties.” Carol whispered, “They are cotton and practical… for work.”

 

“Well now you have unpractical panties… you know to throw around the bathroom and hang over the shower curtain.” Michonne said, she had one eye on the man outside and one on Carol.

 

“I don’t throw my underwear anywhere… or hang it in the bathroom.” Carol said. “Now go away.”

 

“Don’t google yourself hunny bun ok…” Michonne laughed and she and Andrea left the laptop bag on the kitchen table. Carol walked them to the door and hugged them both and said she would see them in a couple of days. 

 

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

 

“Wifi password?” Carol called out as Daryl walked into the lounge after her friends left.

 

“Fru1tand1izza,” Daryl spelt out to her. Carol burst out laughing. “What? Its so no one hacks my wifi…”

 

“Ok then,” Carol typed in the password and she was granted access to the internet.

 

“You doing anything exciting?”

 

“Checking work emails… and the girls told me not to google myself so the first thing I’m doing is googling myself.” Carol told him. “Last time I googled myself it come up with medical stuff.”

 

Daryl walked around and checked the screen while she googled herself. Suddenly she was presented with articles about herself and Daryl and photos of themselves on New Years Eve. The headlines on the articles were pretty misleading. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Daryl said. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

 

“But it did and everyone thinks you have been ‘fucking me’ on the down low,” She said pointing to a tweet that was showing up with her name on it. 

 

“I’m sorry… I don’t know what to do to fix it.”

 

“Maybe if you didn’t go out and get wasted and get into strangers cars this wouldn’t happen.” Carol said. “The next person might not bring you home…”

 

“What can I do… do you want me to release a statement saying we are just friends… or what. Or do you just want to wait for things to die down.” Daryl asked her.

 

“Can we just wait and see if things blow over?” Carol said. “Surely others will do something stupid to distract the media away from us.”

 

“Sure…” He didn’t know what to tell her, the media sometimes was like a dog with a bone. It was alright now because they were in a gated community but it was going to take a while for them to stop harassing them. “So what do you want for dinner… we could go out or I can order in. I know a few places that we can get in and out of without a great deal of drama.”

 

“I don’t think I have anything to wear to go out to dinner…” Carol said.

 

“Its not really dinner fancy, but jeans and a tee shirt type of place. My friend owns a diner out on the highway. We can go on my bike and have dinner get out of the house.”

 

Carol didn't think it was the best idea to go out with Daryl about two minutes after she climbed onto the back of his bike and wrapped her arms around him. He had given her a spare leather jacket to wear to keep her warm and helped her do up her helmet. The whole thing was extremely sexual, her pressed up against his back and her arms wrapped around him resting against his flat stomach.  

 

It wasn’t the best idea at all climbing onto the back of his bike she should have said no and insisted that they just had take out… or she should go to the supermarket and buy food. No one would know who she was surely.


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

She knew she shouldn’t but she lay her head on his shoulder and breathed in deep. His aftershave nearly drove her insane. Her hands drifted lower of their own accord right to the belt on his jeans.

 

Daryl slowed down and drove into a car park in the bar. He parked and the end of the car park and come to a slow stop. He put his feet down and each side of the bike. Carol put her feet down on the ground to try get off. She wasn’t sure how she should do it so she did a dignified stumble off the bike and went to her knees on the gravel in the car park.

 

“Oh god… are you ok?” Daryl asked her. He put the stand down and climbed off himself and helped her to her feet. He bent over and brushed the gravel off her knees.

 

It stung but she wasn’t bleeding she was sure. She stood there looking embarrassed. She bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Are you ok?” Daryl asked her again.

 

“Yeah I think so.” She wanted to go to the bathroom and pull her pants down and look at her knees.  “I need to go look in the bathroom,” she raised her eyes and looked at him, he couldn’t help himself and bent his head and he went to give her a quick kiss on the forehead and because she was lifting her head at the same time he ended up kissing her on the lips.

 

She stepped into it which he didn’t expect and his hands and arms drifted around her back. Her hand pressed against his hard chest. Carol pushed him away gently and looked at his face. “Um hi…”

 

“Hi…”

 

“I actually think my knee is bleeding.” Carol said to him, he nodded and started to lead the way towards the side door of the bar. “How do you know about this place?”

 

“Friend owns it… a guy from high school who’s been a friend forever.” Daryl said. “He’s a good guy, I eat here all the time.” He told her as they headed into the bar, she looked around and she could see it was an old school type of bar.  There were cute booths and an old fashioned jukebox playing.

 

“Glenn…” Daryl grabbed Carol’s hand and led her through the tables to the bar and started introducing her to his friend. “This is Carol.”

 

“Hi Carol… drink?” The young Asian guy behind the bar barely looked at her he was too busy looking at Daryl. “Usual?” He asked Daryl.

 

“Coke… Carol?” 

 

“Yeah I will I’m just going to go to the bathroom.” Carol said looking towards the ladies toilet. 

 

“Have you got a first aid kit?” Daryl asked Glenn, Glenn nodded and moved away to get the first aid kit for Carol’s knees and followed her through to the bathroom. He walked into the girls bathroom and was greeted with Carol and her pants just below her knees, there was blood dripping out of one knee and the other just looked grazed.

 

“How did you do that through your pants?” Daryl asked her.

 

“I think there was glass or something.” She grabbed a antiseptic wipe and started wiping at her bleeding knee.

 

“Do you think you need stitches?” Daryl asked her. “Have you had all your shots?”

 

“Of course I’ve had all my shots. I think… I don’t know. Maybe it needs a few stitches. It didn’t hurt that much until I looked at it.” Carol told him.

 

“Do you wanna get dinner first or what?” Daryl asked her. “Can be eating in five minutes, it might be a wait at the hospital.”

 

“I know a way to cue jump anyway.” Carol told him. “I think we can eat first because we might not get it fixed for a hour or so and I’m hungry.”

  
“That a girl,” He said, she laughed because she heard his stomach growl.


	8. Chapter 8

  
  


Carol was sitting on the bed and a intern was cleaning her knee up, she was being asked if she wanted pain relief, and Carol nodded. She knew it was going to hurt like hell. Daryl was shifting from foot to foot watching and he finally stepped forward and reached out to hold her hand.

 

He had had his share of stitches himself over the time he had been racing he still didn’t want to see the young doctor dig a needle into her skin and pull it together without wanting to punch the guy out.

 

“You ok?”

 

“I think so,” She screwed her face up as they numbed her leg with local. Carol glanced up at Daryl and he was shutting his eyes not to see what was happening. She squeezed his hand as the first needle went in. Daryl opened his eyes to watch and screwed up his face.

 

“Does it hurt?” he asked her.

 

“That bit does, I don’t know it might have been a good idea not to have shots first but it was six of one half a dozen of the other.” Carol told him.

 

Daryl pulled over a seat to sit down because he wasn’t sure if he was going to pass out watching her have a needle shoved into her.

 

“Are you ok?” Carol asked.

 

“I should be asking you that.” Daryl said, “I’m ok… just I’m not that much of a fan of you getting stuck with needles.”

 

“You look a little pale.”

 

Daryl had to admit he felt a bit sick, he didn’t want to say anything he just took a deep breath to support her, because it was mostly his fault that she got hurt. He didn’t help her get off the bike.

 

“I’m really sorry I didn’t help you get off the bike and you fell on your arse in the carpark.” 

 

“You didn’t really, I just wasn’t really taking care.”

 

After they finished up with Carol, they gave her some pain relief. Daryl called Merle to come pick them up from out front so Carol didn’t have to get back on the bike. They gave her a shot and she was struggling to walk upright and not fall on her backside.

 

Daryl was carrying her bag of pain meds and one arm around her to keep her upright. He was also trying to somehow try take some of her weight off her legs.  Merle pulled up in the front of the hospital parking in the loading zone.

 

He climb out and ran around helping Carol into the passenger seat. It took both Daryl and Merle to lift her into the seat. Carol’s legs were not really helping the situation and they were being mindful not to bang her legs.

 

Daryl handed over the keys to his bike. And Merle handed over the keys to the truck. Carol closed her eyes in the front of the truck waiting for the men to swap keys. She started fumbling in her bag looking for her phone to call her friends. 

 

She squinted her eyes open while she hit call to call Michonne or Andrea to tell them they needed to come look after her because she felt like she was tripping. 

 

Daryl climbed in the driver's seat. He started to drive off and saw a flash going off in the side window, he groaned but knew Carol hadn’t seen it. She was talking in the phone and the person on the other end of the phone clearly couldn’t understand a word she was trying to say. He pulled over on the side of the road and took the phone from her and said hello.

 

He found himself talking with Michonne. He quickly filled her in with what happened to Carol to which the other woman laughed because she told him that Carol didn’t cope well with strong pain meds that he would be better to get over the counter pain meds. Daryl wondered why she was telling him all this.

 

“I thought you would come and sit with her.” Daryl said into the phone.

 

“Sorry… I can’t I’m going on a date.” Michonne said. 

 

“Its eleven pm…”

 

“Well I’m on a booty call.” Michonne said. “Don’t drop her.”

 

Daryl could've sworn he heard his motor bike over the phone and then he heard Merle's voice in the background.

 

“Ew…. is that my brother?” Daryl asked.

 

“No… no its not… its the pizza man…” Michonne said.

 

“Ew….” 

 

Daryl hung up the phone before he heard anything else and went to take Carol back to his place and let her sleep it off.


	9. Chapter 9

 

Daryl managed to carry Carol inside and dropped her onto the couch wondering what he was going to do with her. Her pants were a mess and he didn’t know if he should unbutton them and try get them off her or if she would wake and think he was up to no good.

 

In the end he decided to take them off because her legs were numb and she wouldn’t feel the fabric passing her stitches while he pulled them off over her knees. He stared at her for a moment and thought that the pants were ruined anyway so he decided to cut them off her with scissors. 

 

So there he was hovering over her with a pair of scissors wondering where to start and she opened her eyes and was staring at him. 

 

“What are you doing?” She tried to sit up.

 

“I was going to cut your pants off.” 

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you have stitches and you need to get out of your pants.” Daryl said.

 

She giggled. 

 

“So are we to get you out of these and into shorts?” Daryl asked her.

 

“I bet you say that to all the girl.”

 

She was staring at him with a big goofy grin on her face. “I’ll get you into some shorts…..” She slurred. Then giggled.

 

“Are we going to do this or not? Or do you want to sleep in these pants.”

 

“Do you want to sleep in these pants.”

 

“You must be a terrible drunk.” Daryl laughed.

 

“Nope!.... I don’t drink because I’m a terrible drunk.” She laughed. Daryl shook his head and started cutting her pants from the bottom of the leg thinking he was just going to make her a pair of shorts out of the jeans she was wearing.

 

She watched him cut her jeans into booty shorts.

 

“Do you think they are short enough?” Carol felt down her legs to see that she had the shortest pair of shorts she ever had worn. “Are you a fashion designer?” She smiled a goofy smile again.

 

“No, I’m not a fashion designer, maybe we should get you to bed.” He told her.

 

She giggled again and looked at him, “Why… are we going to do naughty things? Are you going to make some booty shorts for yourself?”

  
“No… and tomorrow I’m going to remind you that you asked me that.” Daryl said. He scooped her up and put her into the bed she slept in the night before. She moaned as he pulled the blanket up over her. And he hoped she slept through so that she didn’t feel sore through the night. 


	10. Chapter 10

 

Daryl woke about two in the morning to a thud and a giggle then a bunch of swear words. He turned on his light and climbed out of bed, he was wearing pj bottoms because he was half expecting a midnight wake up from Carol.

 

“Are you ok?’ he asked Carol seeing her on the floor.

 

“Yip, I just like sitting here,” The pain meds had worn off he could tell, “What happened to my pants?” She was staring at her knees and looking about seemingly confused about what was going on. “Where are the legs from my pants?”   
  


“I cut them off so they didn’t hurt you… do you need help or can you stand?”

 

“You cut my pants up? Why did you do that?” Carol asked from the floor she looked confused. 

 

Daryl just decided to ignore her question and just helped her off the floor and helped her shuffle to the bathroom. He left her standing beside the toilet, and bailed out of there telling her to call out when she was done. 

 

Carol watched him leave and cursed herself for having to sit and bend over her knees. Carol managed to shuffle her pants down and held onto the toilet paper holder on one side and the sink on the other to take the weight of her as she shuffled herself down to the sitting position. 

 

After she went and wiped she had to lean forward and shuffle her legs apart so she could shuffle her pants up over her butt. She slowly made it into the standing position and turned to flush. At the same time Daryl was knocking on the door to make sure she was actually ok and not having any trouble.

 

“I’m fine… I’m fine…” She called out. She was trying to stand and wash her hands. “I’m just a little stiff.”

 

She looked at herself in the mirror seeing the dark rings under her eyes, she couldn’t believe that she mucked up her knees and kissed Daryl.  _ Oh my god… she kissed him, what the hell was she thinking. _

 

“Are you sure you are ok?” Daryl asked again.

 

“I think so… I’m kinda stuck now.” She said, she was holding her hands on the bathroom sink helping her stand upright. “A little help.”

 

Daryl pushed the door open and peeked in, he almost looked disappointed that she had her pants up but he checked out the bootie shorts he had made her and thought he hadn’t done a bad job with them.

 

“You want a lift or a shuffle.” Daryl asked her.

 

“Lift please, and a few pain pills hopefully it won’t be so tight tomorrow.” She told her, “Swollen, I hope so I’ve work in a couple of days.”

 

“How many days?” Daryl asked.

 

“Three… then it's back in.” Carol said. Daryl lifted her up in his arms and carted her back to bed. He lay her down on the bed and looked her up and down and helped put covers back over her.

 

“Do you need anything? Drink? Some pain meds?”

 

“Yeah, and something to eat, and my phone,” Carol said, he nodded and had a strange look on his face. “What?”

  
“Whatever you do don’t go on twitter.”


	11. Chapter 11

 

(((((((((((((((((((((((

 

Carol knew she should have heeded his advice but after he left her bedroom she pulled her phone over to her lap and started scrolling through her twitter feed. She then went to Daryl’s feed and she was shocked.

 

“Oh my god!” She said.

 

“I told you not to look.” Daryl called out from his bedroom.

 

“They think I’m pregnant.” Carol called out. “Because I work in the peads department?Or do I need to go on a crash diet?” 

 

“I don’t think you look pregnant, they probably just putting two and two together and coming up with seventy.” Daryl said, he came to her bedroom door and was leaning against the door frame watching her staring at her phone, she glanced at him up and down, he just had pj pants on and he was looking mighty fine. “You should really get some sleep.”

 

“How can you sleep when people are saying stuff like this.” 

 

“I’d rather them say stuff like this than we are shooting puppies out of cannons or something. Honestly Carol, I’ve been single for a long time, so I guess they are looking at anything I do… and lets face it, we have given them a lot to talk about.”

 

“I hate this, I’m private and don’t even have a twitter account.” Carol stated.

 

“Don’t you?”

 

“No why would I have one?”

 

“To stalk celebs, find out what's going on in the world.”

 

“Daryl I’m so busy that i don’t even have time to figure out what I’m having for breakfast. Little thought about what's happening around the world right now.” Carol sighed and her gaze went up and down his body. She was kinda bummed that her date ended on a terrible note when she really was attracted to him and wanted to get to know him better. 

 

“You want me to tweet something?” Daryl asked her.

 

“NO!”

 

“Ok… do you want anything?” He asked her his voice dropping to a notch that seemed to hit Carol in her core.

 

“Do you… Do… You wanna watch a movie?” Carol asked him, he nodded and went a fiddled with the tv and rattled off some movies they could watch and Carol nodded that she was happy with his third choice. 

 

Daryl went to sit on the bedside chair when Carol pointed to the other side of the bed. “Its the middle of the night how about we share… I promise I wont get you pregnant and slash it all over the social media,” she teased. 

 

He gave a low chuckle and shook his head at her teasing, “I won’t complain if you try.”

 

“Why Mr Dixon I believe you are flirting with me.”

 

“Maybe, no shush so I can watch the movie.”

 

Carol watched the first ten minutes and she slipped sideways into Daryl’s waiting arms and closed her eyes and slipped into a drug induced haze. The polite thing to do would have been to leave the bed but Daryl didn’t want to and he snuggled down in the bed with a sexy woman in his arms and went off to sleep.

  
Carol slept all night with her head on Daryl’s chest and Daryl slept most of the night happy to have her there. He slept deeper than he had in a long time. He needed to because in the next few days he needed to go to the track and start practising again for a speedway event. 


	12. Chapter 12

 

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

 

Three days later Carol walked back into her ward going straight to the doctors station to see what had happened over the past week while she had been away and who was new in the little unit since she been gone.

 

Carol wanted to spend some time going through the notes hense while she was there early. Maggie Greene one of the nurses who Carol enjoyed working with come into her office and stared at her. Carol looked up and stared back.

 

“Can I help you?”

 

“So… I heard a little rumor that you were banging Mr December.” Maggie asked with a sly little smile.

 

“I’m sorry to disappoint you I’m not.” Carol told her.

 

“But you would if you could?” Maggie probed a little deeper.

 

“Don’t you have babies to do obs on?”

 

“No I don’t start for half an hour. I’ve got all the time in the world…. So…”

 

“Well I’m sorry to disappoint you nothing is happening we are just friends.”

 

“Really… because his press agent just released a briefing that you were dating and getting quite serious…” Maggie said. “That you were thinking about getting married…”

 

“I’m going to kill him…” Carol blurted out and grabbed her phone and started to google Daryl. She was blushing like mad because she didn’t know what else was happening to her body it was starting to feel all tingly all over.

 

“I was just kidding…” Maggie said. “So you do like him.”

 

Carol looked like she wanted to flip her off but she was scared to because a parent might see her through the glass windows into the office. Carol knew they couldn’t hear her so she told Maggie verbally. 

 

“So… what's he like under all those jump suits?” Maggie asked.

 

Carol just shook her head and went back to writing notes and working out what she need to check up on for the morning. She then went through looking at the babies with the doctor that was coming off shift. She met parents that had been there for a while and the brand new parents with their tiny babies, dealing with parents could go either way, they either loved or hated you on sight because you were the bearer or the good and the bad news for their babies.

 

She felt thankful that no baby was in dire need for anything most were just there growing and putting on weight. There were two babies under lights being treated for jaundice. Carol was busy right up until lunch time.

 

She checked her phone as she sat down for lunch and she couldn’t help but google her name she shouldn’t but she couldn’t help but wonder what was being said about her today. She was just about to start reading when Maggie sat down across from her with her own lunch.

 

“Don’t you have any other friends.” Carol asked her.

 

“No… I just want to talk with you… because we are good friends.” Maggie said. “And you tell me everything.”

 

“And I thought Glenn was the nosy one.” Carol said.

 

“He’s been teaching me… so are you bringing him to movie night?” Maggie asked.

 

They had movie night once a month and it was tomorrow night at Maggie and Glenns place. When really it was just an excuse to binge eat and watch movies while pausing and muting while watching it. Everyone came for a little while but usually Carol was always alone.

 

“I’m not dating him.” Carol whispered.

 

“That wasn’t the question…” Maggie stated. “I’m not going to stop asking him. I could tweet him and ask him to come… or you could just ring and invite him… there would be less media following him that way.”

  
“Oh my god… stop… I’ll ask him ok, he’ll probably be busy climbing in random womans cars though.” Carol told him, Maggie looked at her and pointed to her phone, indicating that she should ring him now and invited him out for a crazy night with her friends doing nothing. 


End file.
